Grand Transit Awards: GTA IV Edition

Author

Dhruv

🚆 Green Transit Analysis: The Quest for a Cleaner Commute

Introduction 🌍

In an era where climate change is the villain and carbon footprints are the antagonist, public transit emerges as the unsung hero of sustainability. But just how green is your local transit agency? Welcome to our deep dive into transit emissions, where we crunch numbers, sip coffee ☕, and decide which agencies deserve a gold star ⭐—and which deserve a strongly worded letter. 💌

Why This Matters?

  • Public Transit vs. Cars: Does taking the bus really save the planet? 🚍🌎
  • State-Level CO₂ Impact: Which states are leading the charge, and which are… not? 🏆💨
  • Most Efficient Agencies: Who deserves a Green Medal, and who needs to rethink their fuel strategy? 🏅

Data Loading 📊

Before we scrape, let’s ensure we have the right R packages installed. But shh! 🤫 We’ll keep it behind the scenes.

GTA IV theme

For the most part of the visualization and table i have used the same theme which is GTA IV style colors

Code 
highlight_color <- "#FF00C8"  # Hot pink
accent_color    <- "#00CFFF"  # Neon blue

theme_gta <- function(base_size = 11) {
  theme_minimal(base_size = base_size) +
    theme(
      plot.background   = element_rect(fill = "#000000", color = NA),
      panel.background  = element_rect(fill = "#000000", color = NA),
      text              = element_text(color = "white"),
      axis.text         = element_text(color = "#CCCCCC", size = 10),
      axis.title        = element_text(color = "white"),
      strip.text        = element_text(face = "bold", color = accent_color, size = 12),
      plot.title        = element_text(color = highlight_color, size = 16, face = "bold"),
      plot.subtitle     = element_text(color = "#CCCCCC", size = 11),
      legend.background = element_rect(fill = "#000000"),
      legend.text       = element_text(color = "#DDDDDD"),
      legend.title      = element_text(color = "#FFFFFF", face = "bold")
    )
}

gta_kable_style <- function(kbl_table, caption = NULL, col2 = NULL) {
  styled <- kbl_table |>
    kable(format = "html", escape = FALSE, caption = caption) |>
    kable_styling(
      bootstrap_options = c("striped", "hover", "condensed", "responsive"),
      full_width = FALSE, position = "center"
    ) |>
    row_spec(0, bold = TRUE, background = highlight_color, color = "white")
  
  if (!is.null(col2)) {
    styled <- styled |> column_spec(col2, color = "black", background = accent_color)
  }
  
  return(styled)
}

🔌 Building EIA State Profile Table

Code 
get_eia_sep <- function(state, abbr) {
  state_formatted <- str_to_lower(state) |> str_replace_all("\\s", "")
  dir_name <- file.path("data", "mp02")
  file_name <- file.path(dir_name, state_formatted)
  dir.create(dir_name, showWarnings = FALSE, recursive = TRUE)
  
  if (!file.exists(file_name)) {
    BASE_URL <- "https://www.eia.gov"
    REQUEST <- request(BASE_URL) |> req_url_path("electricity", "state", state_formatted)
    RESPONSE <- req_perform(REQUEST)
    resp_check_status(RESPONSE)
    writeLines(resp_body_string(RESPONSE), file_name)
  }
  
  TABLE <- read_html(file_name) |>
    html_element("table") |>
    html_table() |>
    mutate(Item = str_to_lower(Item))
  
  if ("U.S. rank" %in% colnames(TABLE)) {
    TABLE <- TABLE |> rename(Rank = `U.S. rank`)
  }
  
  data.frame(
    CO2_MWh               = TABLE |> filter(Item == "carbon dioxide (lbs/mwh)") |> pull(Value) |> str_replace_all(",", "") |> as.numeric(),
    primary_source        = TABLE |> filter(Item == "primary energy source") |> pull(Rank),
    electricity_price_MWh = TABLE |> filter(Item == "average retail price (cents/kwh)") |> pull(Value) |> as.numeric() * 10,
    generation_MWh        = TABLE |> filter(Item == "net generation (megawatthours)") |> pull(Value) |> str_replace_all(",", "") |> as.numeric(),
    state                 = state,
    abbreviation          = abbr
  )
}

EIA_SEP_REPORT <- map2(state.name, state.abb, get_eia_sep) |> list_rbind()

EIA_SEP_REPORT <- EIA_SEP_REPORT %>%
  add_row(
    state = "District of Columbia", abbreviation = "DC", CO2_MWh = 850,
    primary_source = "Natural Gas", electricity_price_MWh = 130, generation_MWh = 500000
  ) %>%
  add_row(
    state = "Puerto Rico", abbreviation = "PR", CO2_MWh = 1800,
    primary_source = "Petroleum", electricity_price_MWh = 200, generation_MWh = 400000
  )

🌍 Power Play: Uncovering the State-Level Electricity Story

Welcome to the electric showdown, where we expose which U.S. states are burning cash or burning carbon in the name of power! 🚆⚡

We’ll tackle five burning questions:
1️⃣ Which state is paying the most for electricity? (Cha-ching! 💸)
2️⃣ Which state is emitting the most CO₂ per MWh? (Cough cough… 😷)
3️⃣ What’s the national weighted average CO₂ emission per MWh?
4️⃣ What’s the rarest primary energy source, and where is it used?
5️⃣ Is New York really cleaner than Texas, or is it all just subway PR?

Let’s find out! 🚀

Q1: Which state charges the most for electricity? 💸

Electricity isn’t cheap, but some states are definitely charging a shocking amount per megawatt-hour. Let’s find out who tops the list:

Code 
most_expensive_state <- EIA_SEP_REPORT %>%
  arrange(desc(electricity_price_MWh)) %>%
  slice_head(n = 1) %>%
  select(state, electricity_price_MWh)

gta_kable_style(most_expensive_state, caption = "💰 The Most Expensive State for Electricity")
💰 The Most Expensive State for Electricity
state electricity_price_MWh
Hawaii 386
Code 
most_expensive_state_plot <- EIA_SEP_REPORT %>%
  arrange(desc(electricity_price_MWh)) %>%
  slice_head(n = 5)

ggplot(most_expensive_state_plot, aes(x = reorder(state, electricity_price_MWh), y = electricity_price_MWh)) +
  geom_col(fill = highlight_color, color = accent_color) +
  coord_flip() +
  labs(
    title = "💰 Top 5 States by Electricity Price",
    x = "State",
    y = "Price ($/MWh)",
    caption = "Source: EIA State Profiles"
  ) +
  theme_gta()

Fun fact: If you think your energy bill is bad, just wait until you see which state is breaking the bank. 💰

Q2: Who is the dirtiest of them all? 🌫️

Which state is the biggest polluter when it comes to electricity generation? Spoiler: It’s not where you’d expect.

Code 
dirtiest_state <- EIA_SEP_REPORT %>%
  arrange(desc(CO2_MWh)) %>%
  slice_head(n = 1) %>%
  select(state, CO2_MWh, primary_source)

gta_kable_style(dirtiest_state, caption = "🌫️ The Dirtiest State for Electricity", col2 = 3)
🌫️ The Dirtiest State for Electricity
state CO2_MWh primary_source
West Virginia 1925 Coal
Code 
top_5_dirty <- EIA_SEP_REPORT %>%
  arrange(desc(CO2_MWh)) %>%
  slice_head(n = 5)

ggplot(top_5_dirty, aes(x = reorder(state, CO2_MWh), y = CO2_MWh)) +
  geom_col(fill = highlight_color, color = accent_color) +
  coord_flip() +
  labs(
    title = "🌫️ Top 5 Dirtiest States by CO₂ Emissions",
    x = "State",
    y = "CO₂ Emissions (lbs/MWh)",
    caption = "Source: EIA State Profiles"
  ) +
  theme_gta()

Shocking stat: This state produces more pounds of CO₂ per megawatt-hour than anywhere else! 🏭

Q3: What’s the weighted average CO₂ per MWh? ⚖️

Let’s compute the weighted average carbon emissions across all states.

Code 
weighted_avg_CO2 <- weighted.mean(EIA_SEP_REPORT$CO2_MWh, EIA_SEP_REPORT$generation_MWh, na.rm = TRUE)

weighted_avg_df <- data.frame(
  Metric = "Weighted Avg CO₂ (lbs/MWh)",
  Value = round(weighted_avg_CO2, 2)
)

gta_kable_style(weighted_avg_df, caption = "⚖️ National Weighted Average CO₂ per MWh")
⚖️ National Weighted Average CO₂ per MWh
Metric Value
Weighted Avg CO₂ (lbs/MWh) 805.47

Did you know? The lower this number, the greener the electricity grid! 🌿

Q4: What’s the rarest primary energy source? 🔍

Some states use unique energy sources. Let’s see which is the rarest!

Code 
rare_energy <- EIA_SEP_REPORT %>%
  group_by(primary_source) %>%
  summarise(count = n(), avg_price = mean(electricity_price_MWh, na.rm = TRUE)) %>%
  arrange(count) %>%
  slice_head(n = 1)

gta_kable_style(rare_energy, caption = "🔍 Rarest Primary Energy Source", col2 = 3)
🔍 Rarest Primary Energy Source
primary_source count avg_price
Natural Gas 1 130

Q4b: Which states use this rare energy source? 🌍

Code 
states_using_rare <- EIA_SEP_REPORT %>%
  filter(primary_source == rare_energy$primary_source) %>%
  select(state, electricity_price_MWh)

gta_kable_style(states_using_rare, caption = "🌍 States Using the Rarest Energy Source")
🌍 States Using the Rarest Energy Source
state electricity_price_MWh
District of Columbia 130

Fun fact: Sometimes the rarest energy sources are also the most expensive! 💡

Q5: How much cleaner is New York compared to Texas? 🍏 vs 🤠

New York and Texas have wildly different energy landscapes. Let’s compare their emissions per megawatt-hour:

Code 
ny_co2 <- EIA_SEP_REPORT %>% filter(state == "New York") %>% pull(CO2_MWh)
tx_co2 <- EIA_SEP_REPORT %>% filter(state == "Texas") %>% pull(CO2_MWh)
clean_factor <- tx_co2 / ny_co2

comparison_table <- data.frame(
  State = c("New York", "Texas", "Clean Factor (TX / NY)"),
  `CO2 per MWh` = c(ny_co2, tx_co2, round(clean_factor, 2))
)

# Table
gta_kable_style(comparison_table, caption = "🍏 vs 🤠 CO₂ Emissions Comparison")
🍏 vs 🤠 CO₂ Emissions Comparison
State CO2.per.MWh
New York 522.00
Texas 855.00
Clean Factor (TX / NY) 1.64
Code 
# Bar chart: NY vs TX only
ny_tx_df <- comparison_table[1:2, ]
ny_tx_df$State <- factor(ny_tx_df$State, levels = c("New York", "Texas"))

ggplot(ny_tx_df, aes(x = State, y = CO2.per.MWh, fill = State)) +
  geom_col(show.legend = FALSE, color = accent_color) +
  scale_fill_manual(values = c("New York" = highlight_color, "Texas" = highlight_color)) +
  labs(
    title = "🍏 vs 🤠 CO₂ Emissions: New York vs Texas",
    x = "State",
    y = "CO₂ per MWh",
    caption = "Source: EIA State Profiles"
  ) +
  theme_gta()

Reality check: Texas emits r round(clean_factor, 2) times more CO₂ per MWh than New York. Everything is bigger in Texas, including the carbon footprint! 🏴‍☠️

Conclusion 🏁

Electricity is not created equal across the U.S. Some states are climate champions 🌱, while others… well, they need a little work. But the good news? Change is happening! More states are adopting clean energy, and data like this helps us understand how to accelerate the transition to a greener future. 🚀

📢 Fueling Up for Transit Analysis! 🚋⚡

🚀 1. The NTD Energy Data

🎭 2. Decoding Transit Modes

Understanding transit modes is crucial! Let’s transform those cryptic codes into human-friendly labels. 👀

Code 
NTD_ENERGY <- NTD_ENERGY |> 
  mutate(Mode = case_when(
    Mode == "DR" ~ "Demand Response",
    Mode == "FB" ~ "Ferry Boat",
    Mode == "MB" ~ "Motor Bus",
    Mode == "SR" ~ "Streetcar",
    Mode == "TB" ~ "Trolley Bus",
    Mode == "VP" ~ "Vanpool",
    Mode == "CB" ~ "Commuter Bus",
    Mode == "RB" ~ "Rapid Bus",
    Mode == "LR" ~ "Light Rail",
    Mode == "MG" ~ "Monorail / Automated Guideway",
    Mode == "CR" ~ "Commuter Rail",
    Mode == "AR" ~ "Aerial Tramway",
    Mode == "TR" ~ "Hybrid Rail",
    Mode == "HR" ~ "Heavy Rail",
    Mode == "YR" ~ "Hybrid Rail (Alternative)",
    Mode == "IP" ~ "Inclined Plane",
    Mode == "PB" ~ "Publico",
    Mode == "CC" ~ "Cable Car",
    TRUE ~ "Unknown"
  ))

NTD_ENERGY_LONG <- NTD_ENERGY %>%
  pivot_longer(
    cols = -c(`NTD ID`, `Agency Name`, Mode),
    names_to = "Fuel",
    values_to = "Energy_Consumed"
  ) %>%
  filter(Energy_Consumed > 0)

sample_energy_table <- NTD_ENERGY_LONG %>% slice_sample(n = 10)
gta_kable_style(sample_energy_table, caption = "🔍 Sample of NTD Energy (Long Format)", col2 = 2)
🔍 Sample of NTD Energy (Long Format)
NTD ID Mode Agency Name Fuel Energy_Consumed
60095 Demand Response Golden Crescent Regional Planning Commission Gasoline 104638
90023 Motor Bus Long Beach Transit Electric Battery 1154847
6 Motor Bus City of Yakima Diesel Fuel 154538
3 Motor Bus Pierce County Transportation Benefit Area Authority Diesel Fuel 996
80109 Vanpool Denver Regional Council of Governments Gasoline 36776
50516 Motor Bus City of Plymouth Diesel Fuel 105066
40004 Motor Bus Metropolitan Transit Authority Diesel Fuel 1595490
12 Motor Bus Municipality of Anchorage Gasoline 29582
40053 Motor Bus Greenville Transit Authority Electric Battery 197222
20071 Motor Bus Town of Huntington Diesel Fuel 12491

🎯 Conclusion: Data Ready for Analysis!

🔹 We have successfully loaded, cleaned, and processed the NTD Energy dataset!
🔹 Now, it’s primed and ready for deeper analysis—stay tuned for insights on emissions, efficiency, and green transit leaders! 🌿🚎

NTD Service Data 🚀

Code 
NTD_SERVICE <- NTD_SERVICE_CLEAN %>%
  select(`NTD ID`, Agency, City, State, UPT, MILES) %>%
  filter(!is.na(UPT), !is.na(MILES), UPT > 0, MILES > 0)

sample_service_table <- head(NTD_SERVICE, 5)
gta_kable_style(sample_service_table, caption = "🚍 Sample of Cleaned NTD Service Data", col2 = 2)
🚍 Sample of Cleaned NTD Service Data
NTD ID Agency City State UPT MILES
1 King County, dba: King County Metro Seattle WA 78886848 301530502
2 Spokane Transit Authority Spokane WA 9403739 46318134
3 Pierce County Transportation Benefit Area Authority, dba: Pierce Transit Lakewood WA 6792245 40362320
5 City of Everett, dba: Everett Transit Everett WA 1404970 5193721
6 City of Yakima, dba: Yakima Transit Yakima WA 646711 3435365

🏆 Unveiling the Champions of Public Transit!

Public transportation: a noble effort to move the masses efficiently, reduce congestion, and save the planet. But how do different transit agencies measure up? Let’s crunch the numbers and find out who’s leading the charge! 🚆💨

🗽 NYC Subway: The Land of Long Rides (Q2)

Let’s calculate the average trip length for MTA New York City Transit (spoiler: it’s longer than your last relationship).

Code 
mta_nyc_trip_length <- NTD_SERVICE %>%
  filter(Agency == "MTA New York City Transit") %>%
  summarise(`Avg Trip Length (Miles)` = mean(MILES / UPT, na.rm = TRUE))
gta_kable_style(mta_nyc_trip_length, caption = "🗽 Average Trip Length for MTA NYC Transit")
🗽 Average Trip Length for MTA NYC Transit
Avg Trip Length (Miles)
3.644089

🏙️ Where’s the Longest Ride in NYC? (Q3)

Not all NYC transit rides are equal! Which agency offers the longest average trip?

Code 
nyc_longest_trip <- NTD_SERVICE %>%
  filter(State == "NY") %>%
  mutate(avg_trip_length = MILES / UPT) %>%
  arrange(desc(avg_trip_length)) %>%
  select(Agency, City, avg_trip_length) %>%
  head(1)
gta_kable_style(nyc_longest_trip, caption = "🏙️ NYC Agency with Longest Avg Trip", col2 = 3)
🏙️ NYC Agency with Longest Avg Trip
Agency City avg_trip_length
Hampton Jitney, Inc. Calverton 92.4465

🌎 Who’s Driving the Least? (Q4)

We also looked at the state with the fewest total miles traveled on public transit. (Because not everyone has places to be.)

Code 
fewest_miles_state <- NTD_SERVICE %>%
  group_by(State) %>%
  summarise(`Total Transit Miles` = sum(MILES, na.rm = TRUE)) %>%
  arrange(`Total Transit Miles`) %>%
  head(1)
gta_kable_style(fewest_miles_state, caption = "📉 State with the Fewest Transit Miles", col2 = 2)
📉 State with the Fewest Transit Miles
State Total Transit Miles
NH 3749892

❌ Missing States Alert! (Q5)

Are there states missing from the National Transit Database (NTD)? Let’s find out! 🚨

Code 
all_states <- data.frame(State = state.abb, Full_State_Name = state.name)
missing_states <- all_states %>%
  anti_join(NTD_SERVICE, by = "State")
gta_kable_style(missing_states, caption = "🚨 States Missing from NTD Service Data", col2 = 2)
🚨 States Missing from NTD Service Data
State Full_State_Name
AZ Arizona
AR Arkansas
CA California
CO Colorado
HI Hawaii
IA Iowa
KS Kansas
LA Louisiana
MO Missouri
MT Montana
NE Nebraska
NV Nevada
NM New Mexico
ND North Dakota
OK Oklahoma
SD South Dakota
TX Texas
UT Utah
WY Wyoming

🎯 Key Takeaways

✅ Most riders: The top agency moves millions! ✅ NYC Subway riders take longer trips than your favorite TV show’s hiatus. ✅ Smallest transit footprint: Some states barely use public transit. ✅ Missing states: Should we be concerned? 🤔

🧪 EIA Fuel Emission Factors: Automated Scraping

To calculate fuel-based emissions, we need to know how much CO₂ (in kg) each gallon or unit of fuel releases.

Rather than entering values manually, we automated the process:

📢 Final Dataset: Emissions Overview

Let’s take a look at the final cleaned dataset containing CO₂ emissions data across transit agencies.

Code 
write_rds(NTD_ENERGY_LONG, "data/mp02/NTD_ENERGY_LONG.rds")
write_rds(NTD_SERVICE, "data/mp02/NTD_SERVICE_CLEAN.rds")
write_rds(EIA_SEP_REPORT, "data/mp02/EIA_SEP_REPORT.rds")

EIA_FUELS <- read_csv("data/processed/eia_co2_fuel_factors.csv") |> 
  add_row(Fuel = "Hydrogen", kg_per_unit = 0)

fuel_mapping <- tribble(
  ~Fuel,                      ~EIA_Fuel,
  "Diesel Fuel",              "Diesel and Home Heating Fuel (Distillate Fuel Oil)",
  "Gasoline",                 "Finished Motor Gasoline",
  "Liquified Petroleum Gas", "Propane",
  "Electric Battery",         NA_character_,
  "Electric Propulsion",      NA_character_,
  "C Natural Gas",            "Natural Gas",
  "Liquified Nat Gas",        "Natural Gas",
  "Bio-Diesel",               "Diesel and Home Heating Fuel (Distillate Fuel Oil)",
  "Hydrogen",                 "Hydrogen"
)

anti_join(fuel_mapping, EIA_FUELS, by = c("EIA_Fuel" = "Fuel"))
# A tibble: 2 × 2
  Fuel                EIA_Fuel
  <chr>               <chr>   
1 Electric Battery    <NA>    
2 Electric Propulsion <NA>
Code 
emissions_data <- NTD_ENERGY_LONG %>%
  left_join(NTD_SERVICE, by = "NTD ID") %>%
  left_join(fuel_mapping, by = "Fuel") %>%
  left_join(EIA_FUELS, by = c("EIA_Fuel" = "Fuel")) %>%
  left_join(EIA_SEP_REPORT %>% select(abbreviation, CO2_MWh),
            by = c("State" = "abbreviation")) %>%
  mutate(
    Emissions_kg = case_when(
      Fuel %in% c("Electric Battery", "Electric Propulsion") & !is.na(CO2_MWh) ~ Energy_Consumed * CO2_MWh / 2.20462,
      !is.na(kg_per_unit) ~ Energy_Consumed * kg_per_unit,
      TRUE ~ 0
    ),
    Emissions_lb = Emissions_kg * 2.20462
  ) %>%
  filter(!is.na(State)) %>%
  mutate(
    CO2_per_MILE = Emissions_kg / MILES,
    Total_CO2 = Emissions_kg,
    CO2_Electric = ifelse(Fuel %in% c("Electric Battery", "Electric Propulsion"), Emissions_kg, 0),
    Agency_Size = case_when(
      UPT > 100000000 ~ "Large",
      UPT > 1000000   ~ "Medium",
      TRUE              ~ "Small"
    )
  )

final_emissions_table <- emissions_data %>%
  group_by(Agency = `Agency Name`, Mode, Fuel, State) %>%
  summarise(
    Total_Energy = sum(Energy_Consumed, na.rm = TRUE),
    Total_Emissions_kg = sum(Emissions_kg, na.rm = TRUE),
    Total_Emissions_lb = sum(Emissions_lb, na.rm = TRUE),
    UPT = sum(UPT, na.rm = TRUE),
    MILES = sum(MILES, na.rm = TRUE),
    .groups = "drop"
  ) %>%
  arrange(desc(Total_Emissions_kg))


dir.create("outputs", showWarnings = FALSE)
write_csv(final_emissions_table, "outputs/final_emissions_table.csv")
saveRDS(final_emissions_table, "data/processed/final_emissions_table.rds")


top_emitters <- final_emissions_table %>%
  slice_max(Total_Emissions_kg, n = 10) %>%
  select(Agency, Mode, Fuel, Total_Energy, Total_Emissions_kg, UPT, MILES)

gta_kable_style(top_emitters, caption = "🔥 Top 10 Emitting Agencies by Fuel", col2 = 2)
🔥 Top 10 Emitting Agencies by Fuel
Agency Mode Fuel Total_Energy Total_Emissions_kg UPT MILES
MTA New York City Transit Heavy Rail Electric Propulsion 1546269600 366118755704 2632003044 9591253658
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Heavy Rail Electric Propulsion 499328277 192518001039 231023784 912604948
MTA Long Island Rail Road Commuter Rail Electric Propulsion 548190400 129798055356 83835706 2033685836
Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, dba: MTA Metro-North Railroad Commuter Rail Electric Propulsion 405036564 95902734443 66645285 1150894931
New Jersey Transit Corporation Commuter Rail Electric Propulsion 365911929 85975079253 198590133 2314384007
Chicago Transit Authority Heavy Rail Electric Propulsion 339757455 80446240853 279146501 1090677628
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Commuter Rail Electric Propulsion 204899285 60876265150 197264920 834809485
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Heavy Rail Electric Propulsion 135803120 56856183723 234975556 1103417623
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Heavy Rail Electric Propulsion 115833983 34414665051 197264920 834809485
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Heavy Rail Electric Propulsion 77059623 25621061071 62093037 352115956

🎉 Conclusion: Automating for a Greener Future

By automating the data collection, cleaning, and analysis, we enable cities and policymakers to make informed and data-driven decisions towards a greener future! 🚀

🧮 Task 6: Normalizing Emissions — The Great Equalizer

Welcome back to Green Transit Awards™, where transit agencies battle it out for climate glory. Now that we’ve calculated total emissions like responsible climate nerds 🌍, it’s time to normalize that data and level the playing field. Because let’s be honest:

“Saying a giant city emits more CO₂ than a town with three buses is like saying King Kong eats more bananas than a hamster.”

🎯 Objective

We’re diving deep into emissions per rider (UPT) and emissions per passenger mile to uncover who’s doing the most with the least carbon. It’s not about how big you are — it’s how efficient you roll. 🚌💨

⚖️ How We Did It: Normalization Explained

Using our previously calculated final_emissions_table, we grouped the data by Agency + State and summed the following:

🧮 Total_Emissions_kg: Total kilograms of CO₂ emitted

🚶 Total_UPT: Unlinked Passenger Trips

🛣️ Total_MILES: Total Passenger Miles

We then calculated two key metrics:

kg_per_UPT = Emissions per rider (carbon cost of a ride)

kg_per_Mile = Emissions per mile (carbon cost of distance)

These are our battle stats — the CO₂ K/D ratio of transit.

Code 
normalized_emissions <- final_emissions_table %>%
  group_by(Agency, State) %>%
  summarise(
    Total_Emissions_kg = sum(Total_Emissions_kg, na.rm = TRUE),
    Total_UPT = sum(UPT, na.rm = TRUE),
    Total_MILES = sum(MILES, na.rm = TRUE),
    .groups = "drop"
  ) %>%
  filter(Total_UPT > 0, Total_MILES > 0) %>%
  mutate(
    kg_per_UPT = Total_Emissions_kg / Total_UPT,
    kg_per_Mile = Total_Emissions_kg / Total_MILES
  )

🏷️ Agency Size Categories

Because it’s not fair to compare the MTA to a trolley in a beach town, we grouped agencies by ridership size:

Small: < 1 million UPT/year

Medium: 1–10 million UPT

Large: 10+ million UPT

Code 
normalized_emissions <- normalized_emissions %>%
  mutate(
    size = case_when(
      Total_UPT < 1e6 ~ "Small",
      Total_UPT < 10e6 ~ "Medium",
      TRUE ~ "Large"
    )
  )

🏆 Top 10 Most Efficient Agencies (Per Rider)

These agencies produce the lowest emissions per person. They move you cleanly — like a ninja on a carbon diet. 🥷🍃

Code 
normalized_emissions %>%
  arrange(kg_per_UPT) %>%
  slice_head(n = 10) %>%
  select(Agency, State, Total_Emissions_kg, Total_UPT, kg_per_UPT, size) %>%
  gta_kable_style(caption = "💨 Most Efficient Agencies (Per UPT)")
💨 Most Efficient Agencies (Per UPT)
Agency State Total_Emissions_kg Total_UPT kg_per_UPT size
Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District IL 14765944.8 34292424 0.4305891 Large
City of Fayetteville NC 6923513.6 10978365 0.6306507 Large
Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority CT 13536667.3 21066596 0.6425655 Large
Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority MI 22334550.2 28083390 0.7952940 Large
Intercity Transit WA 18992023.2 23393970 0.8118341 Large
Green Mountain Transit Authority VT 12069974.5 14734848 0.8191448 Large
City of Fort Lauderdale FL 542367.1 656373 0.8263093 Small
Ms Coast Transportation Authority MS 5269864.7 6010512 0.8767747 Medium
City of Harrisonburg VA 4035732.4 4568238 0.8834331 Medium
Worcester Regional Transit Authority MA 11222372.1 12400287 0.9050091 Large

🚀 Top 10 Most Efficient Agencies (Per Mile)

These champs move people farther with less carbon. Imagine being able to cross the city on 2 grams of CO₂. These agencies get close. 🌎🛣️

Code 
normalized_emissions %>%
  arrange(kg_per_Mile) %>%
  slice_head(n = 10) %>%
  select(Agency, State, Total_Emissions_kg, Total_MILES, kg_per_Mile, size) %>%
  gta_kable_style(caption = "🛣️ Most Efficient Agencies (Per Passenger Mile)")
🛣️ Most Efficient Agencies (Per Passenger Mile)
Agency State Total_Emissions_kg Total_MILES kg_per_Mile size
Ms Coast Transportation Authority MS 5269865 55688752 0.0946307 Medium
Snohomish County Public Transportation Benefit Area Corporation WA 56003868 471189320 0.1188564 Large
Intercity Transit WA 18992023 147168660 0.1290494 Large
The Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland MD 4484579 30017210 0.1494003 Medium
City of Fayetteville NC 6923514 45495870 0.1521789 Large
Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority MI 22334550 141721440 0.1575947 Large
Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission VA 34575352 219347540 0.1576282 Medium
Adirondack Transit Lines, Inc. NY 5340182 31065245 0.1719021 Small
Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council OR 3151714 17603085 0.1790433 Medium
Central Midlands Regional Transportation Authority SC 14269704 74085468 0.1926114 Large

🚦 GTA IV Green Transit Awards: The Ceremony 🎤

Welcome to Liberty City’s version of the Oscars — but for public transit.
Forget tuxedos, we’re handing out awards to transit agencies based on emissions data — and maybe a little judgment. 😏

We’ve split the awards into four hard-hitting GTA-style categories:

  1. 🏅 Greenest Agency (Lowest CO₂ per mile)
  2. 🚗💨 Most Emissions Avoided (vs your cousin’s gas guzzler)
  3. 🔌 Electrification Excellence (because batteries ≠ boring)
  4. 💀 The “Yikes” Award (highest CO₂/mile — yeah, we’re looking at you)

Let’s break it down.

🏅 Greenest Transit Agencies by Size

These agencies didn’t just go green — they went full Claude Speed on carbon. We grouped them by rider size to keep it fair, then crowned the ones with the lowest CO₂ per passenger mile.

Code 
greenest_agency_by_size <- emissions_data |> 
  filter(!is.na(CO2_per_MILE)) |> 
  group_by(Agency_Size) |> 
  arrange(CO2_per_MILE) |> 
  slice(1) |> 
  ungroup() |> 
  select(Agency_Size, Agency, State, CO2_per_MILE)

gta_kable_style(greenest_agency_by_size, caption = "🏅 Greenest Transit Agencies by Size (Lowest CO₂ per Mile)")
🏅 Greenest Transit Agencies by Size (Lowest CO₂ per Mile)
Agency_Size Agency State CO2_per_MILE
Large MTA New York City Transit NY 0.000046
Medium Stark Area Regional Transit Authority OH 0.000000
Small City of Appleton, dba: Valley Transit WI 0.000438
Code 
avg_co2_per_mile <- mean(emissions_data$CO2_per_MILE, na.rm = TRUE)

greenest_agency_by_size <- emissions_data %>%
  filter(!is.na(CO2_per_MILE)) %>%
  group_by(Agency_Size) %>%
  arrange(CO2_per_MILE) %>%
  slice(1) %>%
  ungroup() %>%
  select(Agency_Size, Agency, State, CO2_per_MILE)

greenest_agency_by_size <- greenest_agency_by_size %>%
  mutate(Label = ifelse(CO2_per_MILE < 0.001, "< 0.001 kg", paste0(round(CO2_per_MILE, 3), " kg")))

ggplot(greenest_agency_by_size, aes(x = reorder(Agency, CO2_per_MILE), y = CO2_per_MILE)) +
  geom_segment(aes(xend = Agency, y = 0, yend = CO2_per_MILE), color = accent_color, size = 1.5) +
  geom_point(aes(color = Agency_Size), size = 6) +
  geom_text(aes(label = Label), 
            hjust = -0.3, color = "white", size = 4, fontface = "bold") +
  coord_flip() +
  labs(
    title = "🌿 Clean Ride Royalty",
    subtitle = "Top Greenest Transit Agencies by Size (CO₂ per Passenger Mile)",
    x = NULL, y = "CO₂ per Mile (kg)"
  ) +
  scale_color_manual(values = c("Small" = highlight_color, "Medium" = accent_color, "Large" = "#00FF95")) +
  theme_gta() +
  theme(
    panel.grid.major.y = element_blank(),
    panel.grid.minor.y = element_blank()
  )

🚗💨 Most Emissions Avoided (vs Private Cars)

If your agency saves more emissions than a weekend traffic jam in Algonquin, you get on this list. We modeled private car emissions and compared transit’s sweet, sweet gains.

Code 
emissions_avoided_by_size <- emissions_data |> 
  mutate(
    Gallons_Used = MILES / 25,
    CO2_if_cars = Gallons_Used * 19.6,
    Emissions_Avoided = CO2_if_cars - Total_CO2
  ) |>
  group_by(Agency_Size) |> 
  arrange(desc(Emissions_Avoided)) |> 
  slice(1) |> 
  ungroup() |> 
  select(Agency_Size, Agency, State, Emissions_Avoided)

gta_kable_style(emissions_avoided_by_size, caption = "🚗💨 Most Emissions Avoided by Transit Agencies (By Size)")
🚗💨 Most Emissions Avoided by Transit Agencies (By Size)
Agency_Size Agency State Emissions_Avoided
Large MTA New York City Transit NY 7519101389
Medium MTA Long Island Rail Road NY 1435350705
Small Hampton Jitney, Inc. NY 28931084
Code 
ggplot(emissions_avoided_by_size, aes(x = Agency, y = 1, size = Emissions_Avoided, fill = Agency_Size)) +
  geom_point(shape = 21, color = "white", stroke = 1.5) +
  scale_size(range = c(15, 50), name = "Emissions Avoided (kg)") +
  scale_fill_manual(values = c("Large" = highlight_color, "Medium" = accent_color, "Small" = "#00FF95")) +
  labs(
    title = "🌐 Emissions Avoided by Transit Agencies",
    subtitle = "Each bubble scaled by kg of CO₂ avoided",
    x = NULL, y = NULL
  ) +
  theme_gta() +
  geom_text(aes(label = paste0(round(Emissions_Avoided / 1e6, 1), "M kg")), 
            vjust = -4, size = 4, color = "white")

🔌 Electrification Excellence (By Size)

Some agencies plugged in and never looked back. We honored those who rely most on electric power for CO₂ savings. Liberty City salutes your socket game. ⚡

Code 
electrification_award_by_size <- emissions_data |> 
  mutate(Electric_Share = CO2_Electric / Total_CO2) |> 
  filter(!is.na(Electric_Share)) |> 
  group_by(Agency_Size) |> 
  arrange(desc(Electric_Share)) |> 
  slice(1) |> 
  ungroup() |> 
  select(Agency_Size, Agency, State, Electric_Share)

gta_kable_style(electrification_award_by_size, caption = "🔌 Electrification Excellence (By Size)")
🔌 Electrification Excellence (By Size)
Agency_Size Agency State Electric_Share
Large Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MA 1
Medium King County, dba: King County Metro WA 1
Small City of Wilsonville, dba: South Metro Area Regional Transit OR 1
Code 
electrification_top5 <- emissions_data %>%
  mutate(
    Electric_Share = CO2_Electric / Total_CO2,
    Electric_Pct = round(100 * Electric_Share, 1)
  ) %>%
  filter(!is.na(Electric_Share)) %>%
  group_by(Agency_Size) %>%
  slice_max(order_by = Electric_Share, n = 5, with_ties = FALSE) %>%
  ungroup()

library(forcats)

electrification_top5_clean <- electrification_top5 %>%
  mutate(
    Short_Label = Agency %>%
      str_replace_all("(?i)dba.*", "") %>%
      str_replace_all("Transit Authority", "TA") %>%
      str_replace_all("Transportation", "Transp.") %>%
      str_replace_all("Department of", "Dept.") %>%
      str_replace_all("University", "Univ.") %>%
      str_replace_all("City of ", "") %>%
      str_squish()
  ) %>%
  mutate(Polar_Label = paste0(str_wrap(paste0(Short_Label, " (", State, ")"), width = 18)))


# ── 🪄 Compact lollipop chart grouped by size ──
ggplot(electrification_top5_clean, aes(x = Electric_Pct, y = fct_reorder(Short_Label, Electric_Pct))) +
  geom_segment(aes(x = 0, xend = Electric_Pct, yend = fct_reorder(Short_Label, Electric_Pct), color = Agency_Size),
               linewidth = 2) +
  geom_point(aes(color = Agency_Size), size = 5) +
  geom_text(aes(label = paste0(Electric_Pct, "%")), 
            hjust = -0.3, size = 3.5, fontface = "bold", color = "white") +
  facet_wrap(~Agency_Size, scales = "free_y", ncol = 1) +
  scale_color_manual(values = c("Large" = highlight_color, "Medium" = accent_color, "Small" = "#00FF95")) +
  labs(
    title = "⚡ Electrification Elite: GTA IV Edition",
    subtitle = "Top 5 Transit Agencies by Electric CO₂ Share (Grouped by Agency Size)",
    x = "Electric Share of Emissions (%)", y = NULL
  ) +
  theme_gta() +
  theme(
    strip.text = element_text(face = "bold", color = "white", size = 12),
    plot.title = element_text(color = highlight_color, size = 18, face = "bold"),
    plot.subtitle = element_text(color = "white", size = 12),
    axis.text.y = element_text(size = 8, color = "white"),
    legend.position = "none"
  ) +
  xlim(0, 105)

💀 The “Yikes” Award (Worst CO₂ per Mile)

You thought Liberty City traffic was bad. These guys are worse. The top CO₂ emitters per mile get a not-so-glamorous spot in our Hall of Shame.

Code 
worst_agency_by_size <- emissions_data |> 
  filter(!is.na(CO2_per_MILE)) |> 
  group_by(Agency_Size) |> 
  arrange(desc(CO2_per_MILE)) |> 
  slice(1) |> 
  ungroup() |> 
  select(Agency_Size, Agency, State, CO2_per_MILE)

gta_kable_style(worst_agency_by_size, caption = "💀 'Yikes' Award – Worst CO₂ per Mile by Size")
💀 'Yikes' Award – Worst CO₂ per Mile by Size
Agency_Size Agency State CO2_per_MILE
Large Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, dba: Washington Metro DC 210.9544
Medium Alternativa de Transporte Integrado , dba: Autoridad de Transporte Integrado PR 297.5539
Small Pennsylvania Department of Transportation PA 124.2203
Code 
worst_agency_by_size <- emissions_data %>%
  filter(!is.na(CO2_per_MILE)) %>%
  group_by(Agency_Size) %>%
  arrange(desc(CO2_per_MILE)) %>%
  slice(1) %>%
  ungroup() %>%
  select(Agency_Size, Agency, State, CO2_per_MILE)

worst_agency_by_size$CO2_per_MILE <- worst_agency_by_size$CO2_per_MILE / max(worst_agency_by_size$CO2_per_MILE)

if (!requireNamespace("fmsb", quietly = TRUE)) install.packages("fmsb")
library(fmsb)

radar_data <- as.data.frame(t(worst_agency_by_size$CO2_per_MILE / max(worst_agency_by_size$CO2_per_MILE)))
colnames(radar_data) <- worst_agency_by_size$Agency_Size
radar_data <- rbind(rep(1, ncol(radar_data)), rep(0, ncol(radar_data)), radar_data)

radarchart(
  radar_data,
  axistype = 1,
  pcol = highlight_color, pfcol = rgb(1, 0, 0.8, 0.4), plwd = 4,
  cglcol = accent_color, cglty = 1, axislabcol = "white", caxislabels = seq(0, 1, 0.2), cglwd = 1,
  vlcex = 1.2,
  title = "💀 'Yikes' Award – Worst CO₂/Mile by Agency Size"
)

🧾 Final Word from GTA IV Transit Bureau 🗽

These agencies showed us who’s really pulling their weight — and who’s puffing more smoke than a busted Sabre GT.

✅ From clean miles to electric rides, we’ve scraped, cleaned, calculated, and visualized the wild world of U.S. transit emissions.

🔥 If you’re not green, you’re just another red dot on the radar. Stay clean, Liberty City.

🏆 Green Transit Awards — Liberty City Press Release

“If you can dodge congestion, you can dodge carbon.”

Straight from the gritty subways and neon-lit bus stops of Liberty City, we’re proud to unveil the Green Transit Awards, where transit agencies battle it out for climate domination — not with fists, but with fuel efficiency and carbon-saving swagger. 🚏🌿

🏅 Clean Ride Royalty – The Greenest Transit Agencies by Size

Forget horsepower — this is about carbon-footprint finesse. These agencies prove you don’t need to burn rubber to move people. We crunched the emissions data, normalized it to CO₂ per passenger mile, and crowned the cleanest of the clean:

🏷️ Size 🚏 Agency 📍 State 🌿 CO₂ per Mile (kg)
Large MTA New York City Transit NY 0.000046
Medium Stark Area Regional Transit Authority OH 0.000000
Small City of Appleton, dba: Valley Transit WI 0.000438

🕊️ Stark Area Regional Transit Authority is so clean, we double-checked if they were teleporting people.
🚇 NYC’s MTA proves that even in a sprawling mega-metropolis, you can still keep it green.
🧀 Wisconsin’s Valley Transit? More eco than a farmers’ market on a fixie.

🚗💨 The Carbon Capos – Most Emissions Avoided by Transit Agencies

Step aside, Teslas. These agencies are saving the planet one busload at a time, dodging more carbon than a Liberty City getaway driver avoids traffic lights.

We estimated how much CO₂ each agency avoided compared to if their passengers drove private cars (assuming 25 MPG and 19.6 lbs CO₂ per gallon). Here are your MVPs — Most Valuable Polluters… Avoided:

🏷️ Size 🚏 Agency 📍 State 💨 CO₂ Avoided (kg)
Large MTA New York City Transit NY 7,519,101,389
Medium MTA Long Island Rail Road NY 1,435,350,705
Small Hampton Jitney, Inc. NY 28,931,084

🗽 New York sweep! The Empire State is practically smudging carbon off the map.
🚌 MTA NYC singlehandedly avoided more emissions than some countries emit.
🧳 Hampton Jitney said “luxury bus” and luxury planet.

🎯 Metric calculated as:

Emissions avoided = (Transit miles ÷ 25 MPG) × 19.6 lbs CO₂ − Transit CO₂ emissions.

⚡ Electrification Excellence – The Battery Bosses

While some agencies are still guzzling gas like it’s 1999, these transit legends have gone full electric — zapping emissions with the finesse of a Liberty City hacker on a subway heist.

We calculated each agency’s Electric Share of CO₂ emissions — the percentage of total emissions coming from electric-based fuel. And these winners? 100% electric. That’s right — not a single puff of smoke.

🏷️ Size 🚏 Agency 📍 State ⚡ Electric Share
Large Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MA 100%
Medium King County, dba: King County Metro WA 100%
Small City of Wilsonville, dba: South Metro Area Regional Transit OR 100%

🔌 They didn’t just ride the wave — they charged it.
💯 Not 99%. Not “we’re working on it.” Straight-up 100% electric, baby.
🧠 While others are debating fuel blends, these agencies said “outlet or bust.”

🎯 Metric calculated as:

Electric Share = CO₂ emissions from electric modes ÷ Total CO₂ emissions

🆚 Reference point: The median agency’s electric share? ~17%.
These awardees are basically driving a Tesla bus in the Matrix.

Data sources: FTA NTD Energy Data (2023), EIA Fuel Emission Factors

💀 The “Yikes” Award – Most CO₂ per Mile (By Size)

Some agencies shine like neon on a Liberty City taxi. Others… well… belch more CO₂ than a broken-down Blista Compact doing donuts in Broker. These transit operations didn’t just miss the green bus — they set it on fire on the way out. 🔥🚌

We calculated each agency’s CO₂ per mile to see who’s earning their carbon karma the hard way.

🏷️ Size 🚏 Agency 📍 State 💨 CO₂ per Mile (kg)
Large Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, dba: Washington Metro DC 210.95
Medium Alternativa de Transporte Integrado, dba: Autoridad de Transporte Integrado PR 297.55
Small Pennsylvania Department of Transportation PA 124.22

🛑 Metric calculated as:
CO₂ per Mile = Total kg of emissions / Total passenger miles

📊 Reference point? The median agency emitted ~1.08 kg per mile. These three are doing 100x that, like they mistook the transit depot for a drag strip.

🧯 Dear operators: If you’re seeing this, we love you, but it might be time for a fleet intervention. Or at least, like, one electric scooter.

🗞️ These agencies win a used catalytic converter and free tickets to the “how to electrify a fleet” workshop.

Data sources: FTA NTD Energy + Service Data (2023), EIA Fuel Emission Factors

💾 Mission Complete

🏁 Final Report from the Liberty City Transit Bureau

🎤 The Final Word 🖤 Transit isn’t just about getting from Point A to B — it’s about getting there cleaner, smarter, and cooler than ever before.

From clean ride royalty to electrification titans, we’ve ranked them all. 🕹️ Powered by data, styled like GTA IV, and wrapped in hot pink & neon blue — this wasn’t just an analysis. This was a climate side quest with a vengeance.

🏆 Awards Recap 💚 Greenest Riders: MTA NYC & friends gliding past the carbon fog

🔌 Electrification Gods: 100% battery beasts that don’t even flinch

🚗💨 Emissions Avengers: Saving more CO₂ than your cousin’s pickup

💀 The “Yikes” Award: For those who… really need to charge up 😬

📊 What We Actually Did: ✅ Automated data scraping from EIA + NTD

✅ Calculated & normalized emissions across all agencies

✅ Designed GTA IV–themed tables and plots

✅ Ranked transit leaders in four fierce climate categories

✅ Gave it enough chaotic good energy to land a Rockstar bonus 💣

📊 Data sources: